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Friday, December 6, 2013

Fandom Cosmetics Lacquer Review!

Leigh, Annie, Liz, and Olivia of Fandom Cosmetics

I've had the opportunity to meet the ladies of Fandom Cosmetics at New York Comic Con this past October. Annie was actually a friend of mine from a while back and she started her own nail polish company. She sold her first company and created a new one with Leigh, and their joint partnership created the indie brand, Fandom Cosmetics. Fandom Cosmetics not only sells nail polish, but jewelry, body care items, makeup, and bath salts as well (which smell divine). Their polishes are made in sets, and each set holds a specific theme that geeks and nerds will love (not to mention everyone else). Many of their polishes contain glitter, so you can have the glitz and glam with a touch of nerd. I have four polishes to review today.

Each of these polishes are from different collections of Fandom's line. The polishes are in square bottles with a simple black cap. They are embellished with the line's initials, "FC." All polishes are 5-free, Vegan, and cruelty free.

We first have Moon Runes, which is from the "Dungeons Deep and Caverns Old" collection, inspired by The Hobbit. It is an opaque silvery base that glows in the dark. The formula for Moon Runes was very smooth and easy to put on. Inside the base were small flecks of blue and iridescent glitter dust, followed by blue moons and holographic glitter hex.

The brush size was a standard brush that easily glided through the nail without a problem. As you can see, the lacquer has a loose consistency, but doesn't clump on the brush.

Here are some of the photos close up. These swatches have two coats of polish, which is enough to cover the whole nail with glitter.

I wanted to try to add this to some color, so I swatched to coats on top of Essie's Licorice. The outcome was a gunmetal polish with a semi-matte finish.

One coat of Essie's quick drying top coat is enough to add shine to the nail. I didn't have too much of a problem removing the glitter, as most of it comes off with the base coat. Overall, it was a great formula and the simplicity of the polish left me wanting more. I think I'd use this polish if I were cosplaying as the White Queen from XMen.

Next on my list is Burn Book, from Fandom's collection "The Plastics. This particular collection was inspired by the movie Mean Girls, where "On Wednesdays, we wear pink!" You can guess that the polishes from this collection are pink and pretty, packed with a touch of mean. Hot pink and white glitter overtakes the polish, with some medium sized light pink glitter circles and black hearts hidden and scattered throughout the bottle. I swatched this lovely glitter lacquer over Essie's Licorice and here was the outcome.

One coat of glitter over your base coat is enough to make a statement. Two coats makes everyone's heads turn. The only problem I really had with this polish was that the brush was bent out of shape. This most likely was a manufacturer's issue, because I remember Annie getting upset with the quality of brushes her distributor sent her. The lacquer glided smoothly and evenly throughout the nail and I didn't have a problem with the consistency either. The brush was only a small setback that can easily be fixed.

I really enjoyed the playfulness of the polish because it brings the nails to life. Upon drying, the coat was very smooth and I did not have a problem removing it. Here are a few more swatches.

The only thing I really didn't appreciate was the brush and the lack of hearts and circles. I wish there were more black hearts in the polish because I wasn't able to swatch any on my nails. I don't like to go "fishing" for polish glitter. Removing the polish wasn't really much of a problem because the small spots came off with the black polish. No foil needed! Overall, I thought it was a great color. I'd definitely wear it to my next high school reunion, where I can revisit "The Plastics" in my school.

Lil' Asskicker is from the Walker Bait collection, inspired by my favorite show, The Walking Dead. This glitter bomb is swarming with teal, fuschia, red, and black hex glitter suspended in a clear base. I feel the base was a bit thicker than normal consistency because applying it was almost like toasting a piece of bread with jam. I layered it on top of Essie's Trophy Wife so you can see the full effect of this gorgeous glitter.

Like Burn Book, the brush has a bit of a problem. It was not bent, but there were a few hairs sticking out of the sides, so I just turned the brush in order to streak the nail properly. I believe she had a bit of the problem with the consistency of the polish because Annie was making them on the spot, underneath the table during the Con. That's a lot of dedication!

Here are a few more swatches of Lil' Asskicker after two coats.

This polish was a little annoying to remove because of the amount of glitter that adheres to your nails. I had to foil my nails in order to remove the polish. As long as the consistency of the polish doesn't thicken over time, I'll continue to use this polish until the last swatch. I would definitely like to try more polishes from the Walker Bait collection.

Son of Jorel is the last polish on my list for the day. This polish in particular was my favorite. It is from the Justice League collection, inspired by Superman. Holographic blue hex, royal blue hex, medium sized yellow circles, and large red circle glitter were suspended in the clear base. I swatched two coats of Son of Jorel on top of Essie's Licorice. It looked like the sun and the moons were colliding in the stars in the universe.

I had a bit of the problem with the consistency, as this was the thickest of the four. You can see the base almost appears jelly-like, where it clumps near the end of the brush and around the rim of the bottle.

Regardless of the consistency, the application of the polish to the nail was not difficult. One coat of glitter would be enough to make a statement, but two coats would call Superman back to earth. The brush had a bit of fly aways along the side, but not enough to interfere with my swatching. Here are a few more swatches.

I wanted to see how this glitter bomb looked on top of blue, so I swatched it over Essie's Aruba Blue and this happened. I apologize over the poor quality of the photograph. I didn't realize it blurred when I took the shot. Regardless, I loved the outcome.

I love how the red and yellow stands out from the blues. The primary color scheme is simple and effective, and there is just the right amount of red and yellow circles within the base. Upon removal, the base really stuck to the nails so I had to use foil to lift the glitter off.

Fandom's creativity really moves me because of their ability to showcase our beloved shows in a single bottle of nail polish. I'm glad I got to run into them for Comic Con and I can't wait to try their upcoming products in the future! The only problems I had with these polishes were the brushes and the consistency of a few of them. I only feel this was an issue because the company was shipping the bottles from Texas to New York, and they had to make polishes on the spot because you can not fly boxes of nail polishes across the country. The amount of air exposure to the base may have been a factor of the thickness. The brushes had a few minor fly aways or bent issues, but otherwise worked well. Other than that, I loved the glitter bombs and I'd like to get more. You can never have too much glitter. Feel free to take a look at their website and other social networks. I've linked them below.